Flag of the Republic of Venice

Flag of the Republic of Venice
Other namesBanner of St. Mark, Standard of St. Mark
Proportion1:2
Relinquished1797 (1797)
DesignA gold Lion of St. Mark on a field of dark red accompanied by six sestiere on the fly
The original version of the year 1659 at the Museo Correr

The Flag of the Republic of Venice, commonly known as the Banner or Standard of Saint Mark (stendardo di San Marco), was the symbol of the Republic of Venice, until its dissolution in 1797.

Its main charge was the Lion of Saint Mark, symbolizing Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice.[1] A distinguishing feature of the flag is its six fringes, which were added to represent the original six sestiere of Venice. The fringes also serve to prevent damage being caused to the central section of the flag by wind.[2]

During times of peace, the Lion of Saint Mark was depicted alongside an open book. However, when the Republic was at war the Bible was replaced with the lion grasping an upright sword.[1] During the corteo dogale (lit. 'procession of the doges'), four banners of Saint Mark with different background colours, white, purple, blue, and red, were carried, with the one in front representing the state of the republic at that time (at peace, in a truce, in an alliance, at war, respectively). When at war, the war version of the Lion of Saint Mark was used.[3][4]

The flag inspired the modern flag of the Veneto region in Italy.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Flags of the World : Venice". Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  2. ^ "The Flag of Venice". BANDIERE VENETE. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  3. ^ Ambrosini, Federica (1996). "Cerimonie, feste, lusso in "Storia di Venezia"". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  4. ^ Esquerdo, Onofre (1600s). "Heráldica". Biblioteca Valenciana Digital (in Catalan). Generalitat Valenciana. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Consiglio Regionale Veneto - Leggi Regionali". www.consiglioveneto.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.